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Author Notes:This is a riff on the Oatmeal Coconut Princess Coffee Cake from Jim and Patty's, a local coffee shop. It's a moist, tender, decadent coffee cake with a somewhat gooey coconut pecan topping. I wasn't able to perfect it in time for the maple contest, but now I think I've got it! I used a recipe for Coconut-Topped Oatmeal Cake I found online from Taste of Home as my starting point. I slightly prefer the mace to the nutmeg, but both work well with the maple flavor. I prefer the texture of sweetened shredded coconut in the recipe, but if you can't find it, sweetened flaked will work. The recipe can be doubled and baked in a 13- by 9-inch pan if desired. —hardlikearmour

Food52 Review: Every cook should have a great cake recipe like this in their arsenal. I loved the fact that this cake is easy to make, can be prepared with pantry ingredients, and is perfect for a bake sale, coffee with friends, or just for snacking on during the afternoon. Despite having only a moderate amount of fat, it has a delicious, moist crumb. The oats, maple syrup, and spices add warm flavors, but the crowning touch is the glaze: an addictive mix of more maple syrup, butter, coconut, and pecans that can be assembled while the cake bakes. All of my tasters gave this delicious cake very high marks. —cookinginvictoria

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Makes one 8-inch square pan, or 8 to 9 servings

Oatmeal Maple Coffee Cake

1/2
cup old-fashioned rolled oats

2/3
cup boiling water

3/4
cup all-purpose flour

3/4
teaspoon ground mace or freshly grated nutmeg

1/2
teaspoon baking soda

1/2
teaspoon baking powder

1/4
teaspoon salt

1/4
cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2
cup packed light brown sugar

1
large egg

1/3
cup maple syrup (grade B or dark amber grade A)

1/2
teaspoon vanilla extract

Coconut Pecan Topping

1/3
cup maple syrup (grade B or dark amber grade A)

1/4
cup unsalted butter

1/2
cup sweetened shredded coconut, lightly packed

1/3
cup chopped toasted pecans

1/2
teaspoon vanilla extract

2
tablespoons créme fraîche or sour cream

Preheat oven to 350º F with a rack near the middle.

Place oats in a small bowl, and add the boiling water. Allow oats to soften and soak up the water, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, butter an 8-inch square baking pan, and set aside. Place remaining dry ingredients (flour through salt) in another bowl, and whisk to combine. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar together in a large bowl, using a stand or hand mixer. Once the mixture is light and fluffy, scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg and beat until well combined. Scrape the bowl again. Add the maple syrup and vanilla extract and beat until combined.

Add half of the dry ingredient mixture. Beat to combine, starting on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened, then increasing to medium until well combined. Add the oatmeal mixture, and again beat to combine. Add the remaining dry ingredients, and beat to combine. Beat an additional 30 seconds to help create structure.

Transfer batter to prepared baking pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted near the center comes out with no more than a few crumbs clinging to it.

While the cake is baking, make the topping. Combine the butter and maple syrup in a small saucepan. Heat over medium-low until the butter is almost fully melted, then increase the heat to medium-high. Bring the mixture to a full, rolling boil, then allow it to boil for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. Remove mixture from the heat, then stir in the créme fraîche and vanilla. Once the mixture is homogenous, stir in the coconut and pecans. Set aside.

Remove the cake from the oven. Pour the topping over the center of the cake, and use a fork to spread the topping evenly over the surface of the cake. Scrape any remaining syrup from the pan and drizzle over the cake. Allow to cool completely on a rack before serving.

Ok must share this tidbit: this is cake is so good that I accidentally (this is a not wearing my glasses in the kitchen while multi-tasking story) used the shredded parmesan cheese for my broccoli soup that was waiting on the side INSTEAD of the shredded coconut. Worst part was I accused the dog of stealing the parmesan! And then realized too late that I had just topped the cake with a pecan and parmesan topping!! It STILL tasted good. I just threw the coconut on top at the end. Thank you again!!

That is seriously one of the funniest things I have seen in print in a long, long time. You couldn't make this stuff up! Thanks for the laugh, Karen...being Italian I can vouch that parmesan goes with everything (except seafood, according to my Pop Pop). Hug the dog for me, poor guy, he probably looked totally guilty upon your maligning too, being a dog ain't all gravy.

I LOVE this cake. This time I made it with Greek Yogurt (to be honest all I had was the full fat Honey Salted Caramel flavor). It as great. I am generous with the pecans because they are a favorite. The oatmeal is a great addition. Great recipe. Thank you so much!!

Made this a few days ago, with unsweetened coconut for the topping. It didn't rise as much as I'd hoped, which meant it was quite dense. However it did seem to get better each day -- I baked it on Friday night, and my husband said the scraps that were left on Sunday night were the best. I might try this again but would add more baking powder to try to get little more lift in the cake part...

Anybody tried to veganize this? I have vegan butter and thought I could use some type of vegan cream for the topping...just wondering how it would react if I subbed out the egg for something else. Baked goods are always a challenge for this!

I have made a similar recipe out of a cookbook I have had for 30 years! It was one of the simple, luscious cakes in the "More-With-Less Cookbook", a Mennonite cookbook with recipes from around the world. I have used that cookbook so much, pages are falling out of it!

we live just a few blocks from J & P's, and my daughter loves this Princess coffee cake. is it because it's cake, or because it has Princess in the title? Hard to say. But thank you for figuring out the recipe, we'll be making this soon!

On a whim I searched for "princess cake" not thinking a recipe would actually show up. Low and behold this is the exact cake from Jim and Patty's that I'm trying to recreate. Looking forward to giving this recipe a whirl.

Great cake. Super tasty. Brunch guests loved it. I think I will make one and a half portions the next time to have a deeper cake. Added cinnamon to cake and a thimble full of brandy. Used toasted walnuts.

I can attest that unsweetened coconut works well with this recipe. I have made this cake, using unsweetened coconut for the topping and without adjusting anything else. Everyone I served this cake to agreed that the sweetness level was perfect -- sweet but not TOO sweet.

This reminds me of a family fav recipe that originated with a friend my mom's when I was a kid. We made it many, many times as it always held well and was a hit with whatever age group, from kids to adults, and no matter what time of day. This version, with the maple syrup added, sounds even better. I'm eager to try it. Thanks for sharing! It is on next week's "agenda".

Dang this looks amazing HLA! My oat-barley-rye intolerance seems not as bad right now, which of course means I'm asking for it and have been eating small amounts lately, and as long as things stay good, this cake is going on the must make list.

I'm sure it would be delicious with cardamom, and maybe more nuts in place of the coconut so I say go for it! If you're thinking about testing, though, I'd say better to go with a different recipe that doesn't need to be altered to suit your taste.

Looks great, saving it now. Wondering, though, what makes it a "coffee cake." Also, would you say the cake base is moist? Surprised by the amount of fat in the cake itself--assuming the soaked oats do some of the woek?

Thanks! I'm not sure what makes it a coffee cake. The inspiration came from the Princess Coffee Cake that is served at a local coffee shop. I searched for a recipe for it, and found one that sounded like it would similar here: http://www.tasteofhome...I then tweaked the recipe to add some maple flavor to the mix. The cake itself is moist and the topping helps keep it that way for days.